AN: Wow, it's been over a year since VG5 was finished. hehe, insert really sheepish smile here. I am very sorry to anyone who's been waiting. I already have written four chapters to this and will put one up once a week. Hopefully by then, chapters 5 and 6 are done at least.

Well, let's go. This one introduces some new reoccurring characters. I hope everyone likes the choices.

Disclaimer: As usual, I don't own any of the characters, shows or games involved in this series, only the chain of events.

Chapter 1

"What an amazing city this is. I've never seen one quite like it." Mr Long, much to the amusement and annoyance of his family, had barely stopped once all day. The family had seen more sights of the marvellous city known as Hong Kong in one day then they'd even known existed and he didn't look like he was stopping any time soon.

"Dear, maybe we should take a break." Mrs Long called wearily, wiping the sweat off of her forehead as she looked back at the others. As usual, Loa Shi looked fine, but Jake, Haley, Trixxie and Spud looked ready to collapse. Foo had already flopped.

"But we've got another five sights to see before sunset." Mr Long whined, pouting like a child as he turned back to them.

"And at this rate, we won't even make it to one of them." His wife retorted, waving her arm back towards the kids for emphasis just as Spud joined Foo on the ground with a thump. "I think we've had enough for one day. Especially if you want to see the Fentons' demonstration this evening."

"But, but, but..." Mr Long stuttered, looking miserably from one tired face to the next, lingering on Haley's before looking to his shrugging father in law. Not seeing anyone coming to his aid, he sighed in defeat as his wife and the kids sighed in relief before trudging along to a near cafe.

"Don't worry Daddy. We're going to be here for two weeks. You'll have plenty of time to see everything." Haley reminded him sweetly as she jumped into his arms and making him smile. Even when she was exhausted she was daddy's chipper little angel.

"Besides, seeing Danny Phantom is more than worth it Papa Dog." Trixxie added as she and Jake pulled Spud to his feet. "I mean, what are the chances that he and the Fentons would be demonstrating their new inventions in CHINA of all places at the same time we're visiting? We never even saw any demonstrations from him back home."

"I can't wait." Spud grinned, plopping into a seat as they entered the building right before Loa Shi set down Foo. "Phantom's like the greatest hero in the world. I can't wait to see him in action."

"No kidding. He's great." Jake smiled before it turned into a smirk as he leaned in close to his friends. "Though I'd love to see if he really is the greatest hero in the world. I bet I could take him."

"Yeah right Jakey." Trixxie shook her head, thoroughly amused. "The guy can turn invisible, phase through anything solid and shoots green beams from his hands. And even if you manage to find a way around all that, how do you expect your reptilian butt to handle his deep freeze? You're cold blooded."

"And when he clones himself, he and all of his clones are almost at full strength. When you do it, the more power you give the clone, the weaker you get until you reabsorb it." Spud added helpfully. "And normally you make them disappear instantly anyway because you embarrass yourself by not giving them clothes."

"Ok, ok, I get it." Jake cried, blushing darkly as Trixxie and Haley laughed, burying his head in his arms. "I don't stand a chance. Can we just drop it?"

"Drop what Jake-a-roo?" Mr Long asked, already back to his overly chipper state as he set a few sodas down, before them.

"Nothing Dad, just-"

"Laughing over Jake's frequent pants problem." Haley interrupted, earning a glare from her big brother. "Considering how often he loses them in public, you'd think he'd be immune to the embarrassment by now. Or at least would have bought less embarrassing boxers."

"Haley!" His face was as red as his jacket, though whether it was out of anger or embarrassment was anyone's guess as all the other kids laughed again. Even Foo and Mrs Long couldn't help chuckling subtly while a small, amused smile crossed Loa Shi's face.

"You know Jake, we had a great invention that made that problem completely disappear back in my day." Mr Long said, merrily throwing an arm around his son's shoulders as he sat down. "It was called a belt. I know that they're really outdated, but I'm sure we could find one in any of those antique stores, as you call them."

Um yeah, except how I lose my pants can't be stopped with a belt. Jake thought snappishly, choosing not to comment out loud. Feeling thoroughly humiliated, he ignored everyone around him completely and pretended the people snickering at nearby tables were laughing at their own conversations and not his misfortune as he gulped down his drink. He loved them, but sometimes he wished he could just get some time as far away from his family and friends as possible. Like when they felt the need to mortify him in public. And especially when there were two beautiful Chinese girls one table over that couldn't be more obvious about their amusement over what they'd just overheard.

"It could always be worse kid." Foo whispered at his side, though he couldn't stop his body from jerking with contained laughter. "That Phantom guy once had pictures of himself clad in nothing but his underwear making the front page of the newspaper three times in one week. Thank your lack of fame in the non-magical world that that hasn't happened to you yet. Oh wait, you ended up in the Magic Weekly magazine in that hilarious picture dancing without pants didn't you? Well, at least it didn't happen three times."

Oh yeah, he needed to get away from these people. If this kept going much longer, they were going to embarrass him to death.

...

The moment Gohan touched down on the shiny, white floor, he knew something was off. The Earth's Lookout was a place where the air of serenity was almost constant. Truth be told, since his father died at the hands of Garlic Jr's mind controlled servants, Gohan had come to rely on it. His family was still so unsure of how to function, how to adjust to Goku's absence that small arguments, crying and unnecessary panic attacks had become commonplace in his home. Getting away from his mother and brother and coming to this calm, tranquil place was nothing short of bliss in the young Saiyan hybrid's opinion and the only place that he could safely experiment his new Super Saiyan powers without Vegeta demanding how he'd gotten them, a question he wasn't entirely sure of the answer to, guessing that it happened when he found out about his father's death without his notice, or his mother's panic attack's hitting critical levels.

Now however, the worry and confusion of the place's inhabitants washed over him in waves. It left the teen tensing for a fight, reaching out as far as he could with his senses. This sort of feeling only dominated the sanctuary of the Guardian of the Earth when something was very wrong.

However, the more he focused, the more confused he got over the feeling's presence. The Lookout was a mystical place, from there those with the power to sense could track any source of energy in the world, regardless of how limited their ability was or how weak their target's signal could be. But nothing felt any different from usual. Yeah, there was a fair bit of energy passing his senses with dark intent, but in a world like theirs, that was an eternal constant. It wasn't worth worry that much about, especially since the concentrations of good energy always overlapped it.

"Piccolo?" He called, having enough. He wasn't going to find the problem on his own. He might as well just ask the source. Finding his former mentor's energy signature within a second, he lifted back into the air and flew inside the temple-like structure in the middle of the Lookout, almost instantly appearing by the green, slightly insectoid being floating near a small fountain in a meditative position. "Hey Piccolo. Something bothering you?" He asked mildly, raising a questioning eyebrow.

"Hey kid." Piccolo ignored the look completely as he opened his eyes, giving the young hero the gentle smile reserved only for him. "Don't worry about it too much. I'm sure I'm just overreacting."

"Yeah, like that happens much." Gohan retorted, rolling his eyes exasperatedly. "Normally you don't even get involved until half of us are banged up good and you and Popo alone have never managed to disrupt the serenity of this place all by yourselves before. What is going on?" He added again, this time a little more forcefully.

"Stubborn as your mother." Piccolo chuckled, looking over the worried kid with amusement before dropping to his feet on the ground. "If you must know, an enormous concentration of magical energy has gathered in Hong Kong."

"Huh? Magical energy?" Raising an eyebrow, Gohan focused his senses to Hong Kong only to find absolutely nothing special. "I don't sense anything."

"You wouldn't. Magic is a very different type of energy from what we use and detect. You need magic to detect it." Piccolo replied as he led Gohan back out to the trees Mr Popo was watering. "I'm only able to detect it because of Kami. Even though he's fused with me now and no longer holds the post, becoming a Guardian of Earth comes with some permanent advantages."

"So magic truly exists huh?" That fascinated Gohan. He'd always thought magic was just a thing of fairytales. Besides the Dragon balls of course, but they were long gone, turning to stone when Kami fused with Piccolo. But to actually know that there were people out there using magic, well he really wanted to meet...

His thoughts were cut off right there as something seemed to snap at the back of his head and in that moment his eyes turned unseeing. Flashes of memories almost appearing to fast through his mind for him to make out consumed his vision. The first showed him a figure in red and white robes holding up a glowing necklace and unleashing wind and lightning from it before the image switched to a shadow that looked like a dragon breathing fire, to a feminine figure in a blue cape made everything around her glow blue and levitate with a wave of her hands to a masculine figure with glowing pink eyes releasing a tornado of the same coloured energy from his hand before finishing with a pair surrounded in blindingly white light, the girl creating a ball of purple and white light on the tips of her daggers and the boy swinging a pair of glowing swords that looked strangely like keys.

The images disappeared as quick as they came, leaving Gohan completely perplexed. They felt like memories, but he couldn't figure out for the life of him where they came from. He felt like he should though, like each of those 'magic users' should be important to him, but he shrugged it off. He could worry about that later.

"So what's so bad about this gathering? Is it that dangerous?" He asked, trying to get back on track.

Piccolo had no doubt noticed Gohan getting lost in thought, but, much to Gohan's relief, chose to ignore it. "Only to the owners' enemies." He smirked, his face warping into a look Gohan often saw on the battlefield when Piccolo was perfectly confident and revelling in the prospect of an easy victory. "The gathering is one of the breeds of dragons that's scattered all around the world. This one is unique, born human and gaining their reptilian transformations and assorted powers at the time of puberty. Only two of their breed have turned evil in more than two millennia, the rest are guardians and protectors of the good magical creatures hidden from non-magical eyes all over the world. However, they originate from China. The first temple of their Order was built on a mountain in Hong Kong and is only accessible once every thousand years. The dragons are merely gathering for a ceremony they hold within its walls. With that teen ghost boy Danny Phantom there too, Hong Kong couldn't be safer than it is right now."

"Then why are you worried?" Gohan asked, thoroughly lost. It didn't sound like there was anything to worry about at all.

"Like I said, it's not really worth worrying about. It's just that within the multitude of dragon magic, there's something else. Something dark. Considering that it too is magical, it may be something following the dragons. Many wielders of dark magic would love to slay the dragons and all of them need the dragons out of their way. But with that many dragons around, the move would be an extremely foolish one. Even all the Z Fighters combined, despite the fact that we are all significantly stronger than any of the Dragon Order, would never be able to overpower that many dragons."

"But subtle tactics may be another story." Gohan didn't need Piccolo's telepathic abilities to know what he was thinking. He knew how Piccolo thought, what he knew, but wasn't saying. The Namekian was first and foremost a strategist and was very evil himself before Gohan changed him. He knew how to deal with such gathered power. He knew that when warriors were gathered and at their most powerful, they often at their most vulnerable. An army never expects an attack by anything small and a single, unseen enemy can eradicate them all.

"This dark presence is either a fool or a genius." Piccolo nodded. "Though even a subtle act is risky with creatures like dragons. Many are hundreds of years old, their wisdom as developed as their rather astounding senses. The only creatures out there I can think of that would even dare to attempt such an action would be the most powerful of spellcasters or the two evil dragons themselves."

"I think I'll go check this out." Gohan decided. He could use a little time away anyway and besides, he didn't want to leave this to chance. He may have been saying it was nothing, but Gohan knew Piccolo better than anyone. If it was enough to make Piccolo worried then it was a real problem. And besides, the last thing the world needed right now was to lose an actual army of protectors and peacekeepers. They probably could handle it, but it couldn't hurt to have a little backup just in case.

"Be careful Gohan." The Saiyan stopped a mere second before leaping off the edge as Piccolo called, an edge in his tone that only occurred when he felt Gohan was in real danger. "I know you can take care of yourself now, but be very cautious. Magic works very differently from Ki and you will be just as vulnerable to it as your mother is."

"Right." Nodding as he took that in, he gave Piccolo a serious look, hoping to reassure him before taking off, his white aura flashing to life before turning gold as he screamed. Smirking as the power his transformation granted him surged through every one of his muscles, he took off as fast as he could. He'd let Piccolo deal with informing his mother. He could do it from the Lookout and cut the connection before she started ranting, the lucky jerk. He didn't even have time to get more details about the temple's location or when it would be reveal. Even as a Super Saiyan, it was going to take time to reach Hong Kong from Japan.

Not a problem though. Getting Piccolo to answer my mental calls is easier than picking up a phone. He grinned as the blue, cloudy sky drew back enough for him to see the waves of the sea. After all, Piccolo's mind was always open to the Saiyan hybrid. The Nemakian had made sure of that long ago. After all, it would be rather ridiculous to leave a five year old alone in the wilderness with no developed survival training or control over his power. He had to know when the kid was in trouble didn't he?

...

Hong Kong was an enormous, ancient city, bearing one of the largest populations of people in the world. Its history had resulted in creating many unique places at multiple levels of altitude. Many locations were long abandoned and forgotten. Untold numbers of secret passages and underground chambers made the city perfect for those who did not want to be found. It was something that drove law enforcement insane. Between the places and more than seven million people, it was a perfect location for undesirable characters to conduct their business.

The city had also been the home of countless magical creatures, both good and evil, since its foundation. The Dragon Order arose from that very place. Sorcerers had considered it sacred ground, the Nexus of the magical ley lines crisscrossing throughout the city being easily the biggest and most powerful in all of Asia, possibly even the entire planet. Therefore, no one would ever notice the arrival of a few more, so long as no impressive magic was used, something one particular evil sorceress was quite happy to take advantage of.

Or rather, had been. Her patience was running thin by the time she found the deserted street she was looking for. Overly chipper tourists and poking toddlers was an excellent way to grate away at her nerves.

Pushing the windblown silver strands of hair out of her face, her eyes lit up with a light pink glow as she scanned the area, searching for what few others could see. It was as she turned her head to the left that she found it. The echoes of three essences, none of them human and all of them dark, leading into an old, rundown shack. Following them in, she walked right through the open doorway and kicked aside the most disgusting rug she'd ever seen to reveal a trapdoor. It glowed pink along with her hand and was wrenched up a moment later before she kept on her way down a dark, stone passage that probably wasn't much younger than the city itself, a ball of pink light floating before her and lighting the otherwise pitch black path. It was deemed useless and extinguished the moment she found the bottom of the stairs however, as a large room opened up before her, the walls lined with burning torches. However, it was the trio in the centre of the high ceilinged chamber that held her attention.

"Sorceress! You are late." The young spellcaster openly scowled as the sharp, strict voice of an older woman snapped at her as if scolding a child. She looked like she would make quite the intimidating grandmother, though her head had yet to gain even a single strand of grey. Her sharp face was cold and unimpressed as she stared at the teen before her, fingering a staff imbued with a large, purple crystal and what looked similar to small, torn purple wings on either side of it at the top. Personally, the sorceress thought she most resembled a vampire with her paled skin, gothic red and black dress and black and purple cape. However, she was far from intimidated.

"In case you're forgetting reptile, China is not my home and I couldn't teleport myself into Hong Kong without every witch, wizard and half your kind detecting my presence in the process. It takes time to travel undetected without wings of your own. Perhaps you would like to try it sometime?" She snapped back, her temper revealing itself more and more as she ranted.

"Now now girls, no need to have a go at each other." A monkey clad in yellow butted in before Chang could respond, jumping in between them. "We have plenty of time before the temple appears. There's nothing worth fighting over."

"Well said Bananas." The third figure rumbled, a smirk growing over his enormous mouth. This one was far bigger than his associates. He wouldn't fit in an average sized room. At least five times size of the rest of his kind, this was a terrifying dragon with black as night scales and dark, eerie blue horns, underbelly and V on his forehead. Even those who had never heard of him would fear this creature. He radiated with malicious power and dark intent. "Charmcaster. It is a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance, face to face."

"The feeling is mutual of course Dark Dragon." Charmcaster nodded respectfully. Even she, for all her rebelliousness and quick temper, knew to be nothing but respectful to this particular being. She held no fear whatsoever of any of the dragon races, however, this being was one of only two individual exceptions and was probably the more powerful of them. Certainly the more intelligent by far. He was the master of even the darkest aspects of magic. Someone not even the most fool-hearty would dare take on alone. "Has the boy been found yet?"

"Yes. The American Dragon is right within our reach, as is his grandfather. Other than his little sister, they have yet to make any contact with the other dragons. They can be taken at any time." Dark Dragon smirked, running his tongue over his teeth. "This little plan you've devised is a very interesting piece of work. The results could be taken in so many beneficial directions, which is why I have allowed it to replace my old plan for the Dragon Order. However, I must admit that I am curious. Why are you so intent on removing the American Dragon from the picture, especially if you have never met him?"

"A good question. One that does not have an easy answer." Charmcaster responded calmly, grabbing a candle from the wall and holding it up before her. Her hand glowed pink and a second later the flame grew dramatically in size and reshaped itself, forming complex, unpredictable patterns until it finalised into the outline of ten people, three girls, seven males. Some held weapons, one held a book, one raised a watch, while the others stood in offensive stances. The most notable of them was a dragon. "The world has been made to forget, but until not long ago, ten teenage heroes had become a team, uniting many groups of heroes around the world. Even without these outside team mates, this group was easily the most powerful force of good in the world. Incredibly dangerous to everyone on our side. Even you. The American Dragon was one of them."

"They were once well known? How has the world forgotten them?" Dark Dragon asked, his draconic face lightening with curiosity as Chang scowled at the implication of a threat to her master. "And more importantly, how do you remember?"

"It was done by a force of magic greater than anything I have ever seen. Even these heroes, the Valour Guardians, have no idea that they were once a team or even that most of them exist. It was only really quick thinking and dumb luck that I remember." Charmcaster admitted, clearly not liking how humbling that statement made her. "During the time of its occurrence, I was hiding in a pocket dimension of my own creation from creatures that were destroying everything alive, good or evil. I'd placed an enormous number of spells on it to shield me. When the spell was cast to make all forget, it was that, along with my gift to control magic, that allowed me to shield myself from it. Now, I'm determined to destroy the Guardians before they ever have the chance to reform and recreate the world they did before. Trust me, if that happens, your goals will be far harder to reach then you'd even imagine. The magical creatures, ghosts, the normal humans, they'd all be at least partially united."

"I see." The thought of a group of teenagers becoming such a threat would make most beings like himself laugh and declare the claims as the work of the stupid. However, the Dark Dragon knew that the American Dragon was one of the most powerful dragons in the world and he had explored the non-magical world in search of threats to his future rein. He knew of Danny Phantom, the powerful half ghost who was definitely one of the figures depicted in the flames. Kim Possible was a rather extraordinary fighter, especially for her age, capable of standing up to any of the Huntsclan. Powerful beings from other planets occasionally landed on Earth and there was an organisation known as the Plumbers that dealt with the more evil ones. Then of course, there was the remarkable magical children, from wizards to giants that kept appearing. If a group of them united, and had the connections Charmcaster suggested, then young or old, they would be quite the dangerous foe. "Then why have you chosen to deal with the dragon now? Is he the most powerful?"

"Hardly." Charmcaster snorted, surprising the Dark Dragon and causing their partners to stiffen. "In terms of muscle strength, he'd rank as fourth strongest. However, in terms of true power and dangerousness, he is well within the lesser half of the team."

"Then why him now?" Chang asked, her eyes burning with fury. Charmcaster smirked at that. Chang had been beaten by the dragon more than once and now he was deemed a weakling. It couldn't possibly sit well with her.

"Partly because even I stand no chance against the stronger members on my own." Charmcaster admitted, her smirk turning into a scowl. "One of them is the sorceress Gwen Tennyson and another is her cousin, Ben. Ben's lost the bulk of his power, a device that allowed him to turn into powerful aliens, but they are both the grandchildren of Verdona, the most powerful sorceress to exist in millennia. Gwen is highly skilled in the magical arts and a fair bit more powerful than me. She's beaten me plenty of times before. And Saiyaman, the leader of them, is powerful beyond belief. I'd never go after him without an army. Two are out of my reach and most of the others are always surrounded by other metahuman teens. The American Dragon and Kim Possible are the only ones really vulnerable at the moment and the dragon is the most powerful of them and the one that can unite the magical and non-magical worlds together. That's why I'm after him first. Besides, Danny Phantom's here too. After this is over, I may be able to find a moment to end him and threat of the living and ghostly planes uniting too." She added nonchalantly.

"All fair points. Now let us begin." Dark Dragon nodded, getting smirks from his partner and minions. A dark smile was growing on his face too. By the stroke of midnight, both of the powerful Long dragons would be dead, the Dragon Order would begin a wild goose chase and eventually turn on itself, creating the chaos that would give him everything that he needed.

The chamber rumbled as his roar-like laughter echoed off the walls. After all these decades, one new ally had brought his ultimate goal to but a stone's throw away.